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City Installs Traffic Lights In Sidewalks For Smartphone Users (washingtonpost.com) 195

Posted by BeauHD from the watch-your-step dept.
tlhIngan writes: It's finally happened -- the smartphone zombies are here. The German city of Augsburg installed traffic lights in the sidewalks so smartphone users don't have to look up. Apparently people are so addicted to their smartphones they can't be bothered to look up at traffic signals, so embedding them in the ground they don't have to. According to the Washington Post report, the city spokeswoman Stephanie Lermen thinks the money used to install the lights is well spent. A recent survey conducted in several European cities including Berlin, found that almost 20 percent of pedestrians were distracted by their smartphones. Of course, younger people are at higher risk as they're willing to risk their safety to look at their Facebook profiles or WhatsApp messages, the survey found. The problem may be even worse in the U.S: A survey by the University of Washington found that 1 in 3 Americans is busy texting or working on a smartphone at dangerous road crossings. City officials say installing the traffic lights is justified: The idea is to install such traffic lights came after a 15-year-old girl was killed by a tram. According to police reports, she was distracted by her smartphone as she crossed the tracks.
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City Installs Traffic Lights In Sidewalks For Smartphone Users More

City Installs Traffic Lights In Sidewalks For Smartphone Users

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  • Isn't this a self-correcting problem? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 26, 2016 @08:07AM (#51988617)

    Won't this problem fix itself after a while?

    • Re:Isn't this a self-correcting problem? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by cayenne8 ( 626475 ) on Tuesday April 26, 2016 @08:30AM (#51988749) Homepage Journal

      Won't this problem fix itself after a while?

      I was thinking the same thing....what a wonderful opportunity to see natural selection at work, in real time.

      I think one of the reasons we're seeing so many inept and stupid people out there (and c'mon, you gotta admit you see them every day)...is that we've been protecting people from themselves WAAAAY too much, and have prevented nature from adding chlorine to the gene pool at appropriate times.

      As the previous post alluded to...let nature take care of this situation itself.

      • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

        by Anonymous Coward

        That hits on one that's just had me bamboozled lately. I go to a gym during the winter months for the indoor track. And on different days the track goes different directions, with a big sign right as you enter the track which direction is on which days. I believe this is fairly standard. And it never ceases to amaze me how many people go the wrong way. And it's not like, get on the track and go the wrong way, see people going the other way, go back to check and correct, but like yesterday. Girl was li

    • Exactly. Survival of the non brain dead.

      We have an excess of people already.

    • Yes, but the collateral damage (both to drivers in other cars and to property) caused by drivers trying to avoid these idiots would be unfortunate.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by bsolar ( 1176767 )
      You underestimate the idiots' ability to outbreed any natural selective pressure thrown at them.
    • Look left, Look right, Look down...

    • Considering the surveillance state most of the world has become, consult the traffic cams, if the person hit by a vehicle was paying more attention to their phone, it's all their fault. They pay their own medical bills, and they pay to repair the damage they did to the car (unless there is proof that the car was driving illegally)

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by TheCarp ( 96830 )

      Not only is it not a self-correcting problem; this is already a failed solution.

      We have had pedestrian walk/don't walk lights for decades now. They are mostly ignored. Mostly rightfully so since it is often safe to walk when they say not to, but, many pedestrians act as if they have right of way even if the crosswalk is signaled and says don't walk.

      So, how is adding a new light, which has the same meaning as the one people are already ignoring, supposed to help in any way? Frankly, I think these traffic con

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by epyT-R ( 613989 )

      Yup. Darwin should be taking care of these morons.

    • Nope.
      It's not a genetically-inherited trait, it's an acquired one.
      None of the teenagers zombie-walking while looking at their phones have parents who did that when they were young, simply because there were no smartphones back then.

    • "Won't this problem fix itself after a while?"

      Exactly! Just think of it as evolution in action.

    • Yes, just remember to never type on your phone when you arej;lkjoijoaij........
    • It is a good rule of thumb to never type on your phone while you alkj;lkj ;lkj;lkj ;lk....

  • The Downward Spiral: (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Hartree ( 191324 ) on Tuesday April 26, 2016 @08:08AM (#51988621)

    Isn't this subverting the natural course of evolution?

    • The major drawback of installing these lights into the pavement, at every intersection, aside from the cost of doing so, is that it reduces the number of candidates for each year's Darwin Awards.

      A question I would ponder is do people who cannot protect their own lives due to phone addiction, do they actually contribute anything of value to society?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by lkcl ( 517947 )

      i have had a picture in my head, for many years, ever since i first saw two teenagers walking one behind the other (separated by a distance of only 18 inches), *both* of them thumbs-down and heads-down on their phones. the picture is of DEvolution - it's an addition of two more pictures to the classic darwin evolution of ape to human... and it starts with a picture of an average naked human holding a smartphone, bent over, and ends with a cyborg on all fours again, antennae bristling out of its head.

      we're

    • Re:The Downward Spiral: (Score:4, Insightful)

      by AmiMoJo ( 196126 ) on Tuesday April 26, 2016 @09:28AM (#51989139) Homepage Journal

      Isn't pretty much all medicine and human progress in general subverting the course of evolution?

    • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

      by Sique ( 173459 )
      No, it isn't. Natural course of evolution is that the species survives which can have viable offspring. How the species gets to the point to have viable offspring is not regulated. If a species manages to work together to get more people through life, it will wins the evolution game against all other species which don't.

      Even if the single person would prove itself inept at the task at hand (crossing a road), it might have other interesting abilities that will help other people to overcome other obstacles

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by judoguy ( 534886 )
      From the article:

      "Younger people are most likely to risk their safety for a quick look at their Facebook profiles or WhatsApp messages, the survey found."

      Good, get 'em out of the gene pool in time!

  • #zombielivesmatter (Score:5, Funny)

    by known_coward_69 ( 4151743 ) on Tuesday April 26, 2016 @08:09AM (#51988629)
    because the phone zombies want to live too

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Mashiki ( 184564 )

      I'm now waiting for the next horror movie where phone zombies walk out in front of people and get gooified, and come back as zombies to munch on the people that killed them.

    • Well, they can live INDOORS.

  • Use an app instead (Score:4, Interesting)

    by bretts ( 2480008 ) on Tuesday April 26, 2016 @08:11AM (#51988633)
    At this point, why rely on visual cues outside of the phone at all? If they're looking at the phone and have location enabled, on-screen notifications could tell them when the light is green. This avoids them having to notice the periphery at all, which is less likely if they're into a particularly intense sexting session or game of Farmville.

    • Re:Use an app instead (Score:5, Insightful)

      by rmdingler ( 1955220 ) on Tuesday April 26, 2016 @08:21AM (#51988693) Journal
      The problem with this sort of conditioning is that it desensitizes the user even further to the world around him.

      When exceptions are made that do not penalize risky behavior, it encourages more risky behavior, perhaps in an environment without any protection.

    • I was just joking with my "use an app" post below, but apparently you are serious and were modded up. How would the phone know the light is green? You would have to connect the lighting control system to the Internet and send the data to the smartphones.

    • 1) Which light? The phone does not know which of the two road crossings you are standing next to you want to use.
      2) And why in the world would a person who does bother to look before they cross go out of their way to install and use an app to do the same? If they cared, they would not be crossing the street in this way to begin with.

    • At this point, why rely on visual cues outside of the phone at all? If they're looking at the phone and have location enabled, on-screen notifications could tell them when the light is green. This avoids them having to notice the periphery at all, which is less likely if they're into a particularly intense sexting session or game of Farmville.

      Maybe because network / cpu delay would = a dead user ?

      I sure as hell wouldn't take the risk of writing / publishing / backing such an app.

  • Stupid idea (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward

    Let Darwinism take its course.

    • Let Darwinism take its course.

      So many people making comments like this. So many sociopaths.

      Even if the kernel of your thought was valid, you're missing what is obvious to others. What about the "smart" person driving the car that hits the inattentive pedestrian? Their guilt and sorrow is trivial enough to you that taking steps to prevent it isn't worth a thought? What about the parents of the inattentive pedestrian, who tried to instill sensibility in their child but... rebellious teens still think they know everything? What abou

      • What about the human cost?

        This is Slashdot. You just went over most posters' heads. At best, you'll just get blank stares.

  • The correct solution is to make every traffic light IoT enabled and to make an app that tells people when the lights change. It would only cost about $400 million or so. What are the Germans thinking?

    ----This message brought to you by Cisco(tm)

  • The fact that sidewalk streetlights have been implemented is a sure sign that not enough Darwin awards are being granted in the world today.

    Given the time and a proper amount of texting drivers, this problem will eliminate itself.

  • Good for them (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Kohath ( 38547 )

    Nice to see a government that cares about keeping people safe rather than just taking their money and scolding them.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Mashiki ( 184564 )

      It's sure not helping the gene pool. To think that there were so many helping civilization and now some government has gone and messed that up.

    • Re:Good for them (Score:5, Insightful)

      by smooth wombat ( 796938 ) on Tuesday April 26, 2016 @08:42AM (#51988839) Journal

      Because it's the government job to protect every person from every single possible calamity which may befall that person rather than encouraging people to take responsibility for themselves.

      Essentially, you're admitting people are too stupid to take care of themselves so Big Brother has to do so.

      Are these the kind of people we want to perpetuate our species? Ones who can't think or act for themselves?

      • Re:Good for them (Score:4, Interesting)

        by CanadianMacFan ( 1900244 ) on Tuesday April 26, 2016 @09:13AM (#51989021)

        It's not just about saving the life of the person who is not paying attention. If they walk out into traffic other people may be hurt such as the driver of the car or passengers or the car may hit other people if the driver swerves. Then there is the psychological trauma, especially for the driver of the vehicle. But it's also for other passengers, the bystanders, and the emergency response crews. Plus you have the impact on the family and friends. Not just for the person who wasn't looking but for anyone else who was hurt physically and/or mentally. And finally you have any damage that needs to be repaired. It's not as important as the rest but it still needs to be taken into account.

        So no, it's not just the government trying to protect a single person from every possible calamity. In this case it's the government trying to protect a whole bunch of us from someone being an idiot.

        • In this case it's the government trying to protect a whole bunch of us from someone being an idiot.

          Wouldn't letting people see the result of being more enamored with ones cell phone than their surroundings teach a larger group of people a valuable lesson? "This is what happens when you don't pay attention."

          In nature, when one animal encounters a bad situation, and it survives, it tells its friends and neighbors. Those in turn don't do what the first animal did. It's called learning. Those that

        • You hit the nail on the head with that last word. Idiot. They are everywhere. The government can no more protect us from them than they can protect idiots from themselves. Make something idiot proof, evolution produces a greater idiot.

          But at what expense. The result of idiot proofing the world has very real economic impacts not just because the government is spending money but also due to the regulations they introduce and the effort and lost time caused by retrospective compliance.

          The only thing they achie

      • Are these the kind of people we want to perpetuate our species? Ones who can't think or act for themselves?

        Thousands of years of religion haven't extinguished humanity, so don't be too concerned about cell phones.

      • Because it's the government job to protect every person from every single possible calamity which may befall that person rather than encouraging people to take responsibility for themselves.

        Amen. This line of thinking of "but if it saves JUST ONE LIFE, it's all worth it!" is dangerous, expensive, and sadly growing more pervasive. Government trying to protect every person from every possible calamity has led to the USA PATRIOT act, the mass surveillance apparatus, 3 hour lines to get on an airplane, etc.

        People are going to die. It sucks, but we can't save everyone all the time.

  • Ha (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward

    If a girl can't notice a train, they are not going to notice lights on the ground. If they can't even notice they are walking into a street... I bet they think all drivers will stop to let them pass.

    Ok, lets forget highway improvements, lets put all that money into putting lights into the sidewalks!

  • If you're walking down a busy street gazing down at your cell phone, I'd like to install my shoe up your ass.

  • Boom to the Burglary Business!!! (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Rogue974 ( 657982 ) on Tuesday April 26, 2016 @08:47AM (#51988863)

    I grew up in a small framing community outside of Chicago and then went to college in Chicago. In one of my first few weeks there, a new friend who was from the city told me to stop looking down at the sidewalk. I asked why and he told me, that is how you get yourself mugged.

    We talked about it and I realized, being from a land of no sidewalks, I always scan the ground to make sure of my footing so I don't trip on uneven ground. In the city, sidewalks are much more level and predictable so people don't have to look down. Also pickpockets and muggers look for easy targets that can't identify them. My friend told me, he was always taught, look up and look at the people around you. If you make eye contact with a mugger, there is a chance you will be able to ID him so they look for another target.

    I am thinking, all these peoples looking down at their phone are an excellent target for being pick pocketed! I may have to change professions!

  • Horrible Idea, Horrible Suggestions (Score:5, Interesting)

    by wisnoskij ( 1206448 ) on Tuesday April 26, 2016 @08:51AM (#51988885) Homepage

    While it is obvious that this "solution" solves nothing and protects no one, the solutions put forward here are equally useless. No one who does not look up when crossing the road will install an app to make street crossings easier (and that is ignoring the technical hurdle of figuring out which road the user is crossing at the intersection, which seems like an unsolvable problem to me). And if they are engrossed in their phone, they are equally as likely to miss any indicators, on the ground, in the sky, or anywhere in-between.

    If you want to protect people from themselves, you need some sort of barrier or arm that physically blocks forward movement. Nothing else will register to someone who will miss a train barrelling towards them.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by tsqr ( 808554 )

      If you want to protect people from themselves, you need some sort of barrier or arm that physically blocks forward movement. Nothing else will register to someone who will miss a train barrelling towards them.

      This is exactly what my city is doing - installing miniature crossing gates that block the sidewalks at grade crossings when a train is coming. Because pedestrians obviously can't see the traffic gates come down or hear the loud bells or see the flashing red lights.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Misagon ( 1135 )

      I once saved a texting woman from being run-over by a train at a railroad crossing.
      She walked right out on the tracks despite blinking lights and a very loud audible signal. She stopped first after a boom stopped her path -- the boom on the opposite side: She was standing right on the railroad track!
      I had to enter the tracks and physically drag her out of there. She protested at first, but I got her to safety. She said "thanks" but at no time did her eyes even leave her frikkin' phone!

      So, no, I don't thin

  • Need something for stop lines (Score:3)

    by RogueWarrior65 ( 678876 ) on Tuesday April 26, 2016 @09:03AM (#51988951)

    How about something that smacks drivers in the head when they pull a FULL car length PAST the stop line before even thinking about stopping knowing full well that if approaching cars are just barely far enough away they'd blow right through the stop sign? News flash, people, you're not that important and neither is whatever you're racing to.

  • Situational Awareness (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Required Snark ( 1702878 ) on Tuesday April 26, 2016 @09:05AM (#51988965)
    This is just the latest example of the erosion of situational awareness: the ability to monitor what is happening in the immediate environment. Smartphones, earbuds, and texting all displace attention from the "here and now" by redirecting mental focus to a non-local environment. Note that this is beyond what happens with reading a book or listening to music without headphones because of the immersive/interactive nature of the experience.

    The loss of situational awareness makes people more susceptible to bad outcomes because the warning cues don't get through. Hence walking into traffic while looking at a screen. Obviously reading and walking can have the same result, but before the advent of current smartphones there were far fewer people who acted that irresponsibly. Also it was not social acceptable because most people realized the potential hazard. Now that smartphones are ubiquitous social norms have changed and people just don't care about what's going on around them.

    A more direct way to say it is that people now act very stupidly in public. They inhabit a personal bubble and blindly assume that reality will never intrude. There will never be enough padding in the world to protect them from a lack of attention. To quote Forrest Gump, "Stupid is as stupid does".

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by tlhIngan ( 30335 )

      This is just the latest example of the erosion of situational awareness: the ability to monitor what is happening in the immediate environment. Smartphones, earbuds, and texting all displace attention from the "here and now" by redirecting mental focus to a non-local environment. Note that this is beyond what happens with reading a book or listening to music without headphones because of the immersive/interactive nature of the experience.
      The loss of situational awareness makes people more susceptible to bad

  • Let me get this straight.. (Score:3)

    by Scarred Intellect ( 1648867 ) on Tuesday April 26, 2016 @09:06AM (#51988975) Homepage Journal

    So using a cell phone while driving and causing an accident is clearly the driver's fault, but using a cell phone while walking and causing an accident is the city's fault?

    Double standard, much? [theoatmeal.com]

  • This is another example of governments rewarding/subsidizing bad behavior. It needs to stop.

  • Comment removed based on user account deletion

  • For all those who say "let stupid solve itself" - I for one actually like this idea. Not for smartphone users. But for kids and other adults - large trucks and trains can block the crosswalk light. My son is learning to cross the road himself and currently knows to Stop at the Yellow mat on the sidewalk (we have these big yellow rubber mats installed in the sidewalk). The road itself has either White painted stripes or inlaid faux Brick crossings.

    So having a row of Red Lights on the ground like a littl

  • I've hacked on smartphones being anything but 'smart' for quite some time now, because of the cost of the phone, getting gouged for overpriced, underperforming, capped data plans from the highway robbers masquerading as wireless companies, and the fact that all smartphones have more holes in their security than a swisscheese, but now I have a whole new reason to never want a smartphone: I don't want to be associated with these mouth-breathers whose eyes are so thoroughly glued to their gods-be-damned phones

  • Change the laws so that drivers are not liable if they hit a pedestrian when it's the drivers lawful right of way.

  • I'm confused as to how this works. We are assuming that people that can't look down to see TRAIN TRACKS will actually notice the lights on the ground right next to the TRAIN TRACKS. I use to think Germans and European leaders were a little smarter than us here in the US, but apparently they have plenty of stupid people in charge, too.

  • These light strips should also be visible to seeing-eye dogs, who could be trained to stop their owner when turned on. Since dogs are colorblind, that's assuming they just turn off and on, not red and green.

  • Although I'd normally snark this one to death, having flashing LEDs at a crossing for pedestrian control *as well as* for vehicle control isn't a bad idea, really. We have a couple of those here in San Diego on notoriously unsafe crossings, or areas where cars have a tendency to fail to notice the normal crosswalk signaling but they don't want to put a full traffic light in.

    Those with failing eyesight or using guide-dogs might also benefit from this.

    It's a horrible thing to *have* to put in, but as probably

  • Tickets (Score:3)

    by OrangeTide ( 124937 ) on Tuesday April 26, 2016 @04:06PM (#51991943) Homepage Journal

    Shouldn't they be handing out tickets and fines to pedestrians that are using public streets while distracted?

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